Read first time 01/14/08.   Referred to Committee on Agriculture & Rural Economic Development.

     AN ACT Relating to membership on the apple commission; amending RCW 15.24.035 and 15.24.040; and adding a new section to chapter 15.24 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 15.24.035 and 2004 c 178 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The director shall appoint the members of the commission.
     (2) Candidates for positions on the commission shall be nominated to the director in accordance with subsection (3) of this section.
     (3) Not less than sixty days nor more than seventy-five days prior to the commencement of a commission member's term, the commission shall cause an advisory vote to be held for the director-appointed positions. Advisory ballots shall be mailed to all affected producers for producer positions and to affected dealers for dealer positions and shall be returned to the commission not less than thirty days prior to the commencement of the term. The advisory ballot shall be conducted in a manner so that it is a secret ballot. The names of the two candidates receiving the most votes in the advisory vote shall be forwarded to the director for potential appointment to the commission. In the event only two candidates are nominated for a position, an advisory vote need not be held and the candidates' names shall be forwarded to the director for potential appointment. If only one candidate is nominated for a position, ((the commission shall select a second candidate whose name will be forwarded to)) the director has the discretion to appoint or reject the candidate.
     (4) Any candidate whose name is forwarded to the director for potential appointment shall submit to the director a letter stating why he or she wishes to be appointed to the commission. The director may select ((either person)) any candidate for the position or may reject ((both nominees)) all candidates and request a new advisory vote with nominees selected by the commission and, if desired, by the director.

Sec. 2   RCW 15.24.040 and 2004 c 178 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:
     The commission shall call a meeting of apple growers, and meetings of apple dealers in dealer district No. 1 and dealer district No. 2 for the purpose of nominating to the advisory ballot for nomination to the director their respective members of the commission, when a term is about to expire, or when a vacancy exists, except as provided in RCW 15.24.050, as amended, at times and places to be fixed by the commission. The meetings shall be held ((not later than February 15th of)) each year and insofar as practicable, the meetings of the growers shall be held at the same time and place as the annual meeting of the Washington state horticultural association, or the annual meeting of any other producer organization which represents a majority of the state's apple producers, as determined by the commission, but not while the same is in actual session. Public notice of such meetings shall be given by the commission in such manner as it may determine: PROVIDED, That nonreceipt of the notice by any interested person shall not invalidate the proceedings. Any qualified person may be nominated orally for such positions at the respective meetings. Nominations may also be made within five days after any such meeting by written petition filed in the office of the commission, signed by not less than five apple growers or dealers, as the case may be, residing within the district or within the subdivision if the nomination is made from a subdivision.
     Nominees to be forwarded to the director for appointment to producer positions on the commission shall be selected by a majority of the votes cast by the apple growers in the respective districts. Each grower who operates a commercial producing apple orchard within the district being represented, whether an individual proprietor, partnership, joint venture, or corporation, is entitled to one vote. As to bona fide leased or rented orchards, only the lessee-operator, if otherwise qualified, shall be entitled to vote. An individual commercial orchard operator, if otherwise qualified, shall be entitled to vote as such, even though he or she is also a member of a partnership or corporation which votes for other apple acreage. Nominees to be forwarded to the director for appointment to dealer positions on the commission shall be selected by a majority of the votes cast by the apple dealers in the respective districts, each dealer being entitled to one vote.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 15.24 RCW to read as follows:
     If a commission member fails or refuses to perform his or her duties due to excessive absence or abandonment of his or her position or engages in any acts of dishonesty or willful misconduct, the commission may recommend to the director that the commission member be removed from his or her position on the commission. Upon receiving such recommendation, the director shall review the matter, including any statement from the commission member who is the subject of the recommendation, and determine whether adequate cause for removal is present. If the director finds that adequate cause for removal exists, the director shall remove the member from his or her commission position. The position shall then be declared vacant and must be filled pursuant to the provisions of this chapter for filling vacancies.